CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Hundreds of impoverished people queued outside a state university in Cagayan de Oro under the scorching sun for hours, hoping to receive government cash aid and a few kilos of rice. They went home empty-handed.
Tension gripped the area fronting the state-run University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) on Friday, May 17, where people lined up, waiting to get in to collect aid promised during the two-day Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair.
Philippine Coast Guard personnel manned the main gate of the USTP and were instructed to stop allowing aid seekers from entering the venue past 12 noon.
By 3 pm, authorities only allowed people who wanted to take advantage of the “passport on wheels” service of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
With this, many people who endured the long queues while temperatures soared outside the university left the area, disappointed.
Beverly Halangdon, a resident of Villanueva town, Misamis Oriental, had waited for hours outside just like many others.
She stood outside the gate, hoping she could still go home with six kilograms of rice after the announcement that the release of the P10,000 aid for beneficiaries had stopped already.
“Makakuha lang mi og bugas okay na kaayo sa amoa. May nalang naa mi pagkaon (It’s okay even if we only receive rice. At least, we have food),” Halangdon said.
A mother from El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental, said she waited outside as early as 7 am, expecting to receive some aid from the government.
Lorigen Paterno, coordinator of the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Northern Mindanao, said 10,000 beneficiaries of the presidential assistance to farmers, fisherfolk, and families were pre-identified.
The first 7,000 beneficiaries received the cash aid during the Cagayan de Oro visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the Aquilino Pimentel Jr. International Convention Center on Thursday, May 16.
The distribution of financial assistance for the remaining 3,000 beneficiaries was held at the state-run university on Friday.
“We received a list from partners and we assessed the list of beneficiaries. The assessment was done through crossmatching to find out if a beneficiary received previous assistance from DSWD during the last three months,” Paterno told Rappler on Saturday, May 18.
“This process is to ensure that the limited funds provided in our region are distributed to those deserving clients,” she said.
Paterno said they still accepted walk-in applicants at USTP, but they only gave them food packs.
Paterno added they subsequently stopped accepting more applicants because of the crowd influx and the disorder of the situation, which can be seen in some videos posted by the media.
“We had to ensure the safety of everyone—the beneficiaries, our staff, the school, and those who entered the campus,” Paterno added.
She noted that the walk-in aid seekers who had coupons but did not get the family food packs during the two-day event could no longer get assistance. – Rappler.com
